San José Fulfills Promise Of A "Chinatown"

Christmas 2011 will have a special event add to the year end activities, the opening of the "Barrio Chino" or Chinatown.

The area around the Paseo de los Estudiantes in San José has been chosen by the municipality to become the Chinatown, which is expected to be ready for the end of the year,

The creation of the Chinatown is the fulfilling of a promise by the Municipalidad de San José to the Chinese community in Costa Rica.

The area not only will be alluding to the culture of the Asian nation, but will also serve as lever to attract tourists, say municipal officials.

Vehicular traffic in the area will be banned for the convenience of pedestrians, as the road in the six block area will be replaced by a boulevard which will be axis of the project. The exception is for cars to the parking lots, who will have a lane to turn at low speed.

The construction of the boulevard is expected to start next month and be completed for December.

Although the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) has yet to provide the permits for the closure of the Calle 9, San José's mayor, Johnny Araya, is confident that all the work will be done on time and explained that the project is being paid for by a donation of us$1 million dollar by the government of China and ¢200 million colones (us$400.000) by public funds.

The project will include arches, one of which is being donated by China's capital city and a series of lanterns.

"San José is a city that is should develop more tourist attractions. We want tourists coming into the country to visit or stay more days in San José, and there is no doubt that Chinatown is an attraction for the city", said Johnny Araya.

Chinatown, in addition to attracting tourists, is expected to attract commerce in the area of Paseo de los Estudiantes.

Isabel Yung, chairman of the Asociación Colonia China (China Colony Association) said she was excited about the project but is concerned that the cost of space will be exorbitant once the boulevard is finished, which would prevent more Chinese businesses.

Will there be AMPs?

As someone who can find his way around the gultch but does not know specific streets or sites, where will this be in relation to the gultch.?

Excellent, I shop for food and spices in Chinatown here in Houston, so now I'll have one in San Jose to shop at as well.

There are a few Chinese food shops located in the area where Chinatown is planned. That is the reason the area was chosen.

Tin Jo is in that area, right?